PhilosophyTube
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2024 State of the Channel
🕑 Added 2024-12-31 14:38:57 +0000 UTCHello lovely Patrons and non-patrons (this post is public)! I hope you had a wonderful 2024 and are having a Happy New Year. As is customary, here's the end-of-year summary of how the channel is doing financially, artistically, spiritually, etc:
The Channel Overall
The channel gained 96,000 subscribers, which is fewer than last year. Unfortunately the Patreon lost 700 paid members, though it gained 3,600 free ones.
Hello free members of the Patreon; would you consider perhaps becoming paid members?!
I mothballed the Philosophy Tube Twitter account and started on Bluesky. We're doing well on there and have a decent presence on Instagram, TikTok, and tumblr too. TikTok is fun but I'm not sure it represents a productive use of my time lol: I don't think I'll prioritise it in 2025.
I don't think I made any serious errors this year? The only thing that went unambiguously wrong was the delays to the shooting of Dracula's Ex-Girlfriend, which weren't my fault. Unfortunately that did have a knock-on effect - I'll say more about that below.
Outside Philosophy Tube
This year I've done a few movie premieres and press engagements promoting my work in Dracula's Ex-Girlfriend and Star Wars. I got to go to the Emmys too. That's all fun, but it is expensive and takes time away from other things; hopefully they translate into more acting work later. I also left my former agent and signed with a new manager in LA, who's brilliant. Kill James Bond, the podcast I do with my two best friends, grew and made a lot of people laugh, especially at our live shows in London. I'll be on University Challenge tonight on BBC2 at 20:30, which is fun too - a very prestigious British quiz show.
Episodes of Philosophy Tube
This year I focused on making fewer videos of higher quality. We made four episodes (plus a little extra mini-video right at the end that I won't count). All but one episode took multiple days to film. The one on Judith Butler was the biggest production we've ever done on Philosophy Tube requiring multiple days of shooting as well as extra crew members. Two episodes got over a million views, the others got around 3/4 of a million and counting. The one we made on Death didn't go down as well as expected, curiously, despite being a collab? That's a pity, but oh well. The final episode of the year, TikTok Vs Democracy, was an experiment with a simpler form that I'd say went pretty well - it was artistically satisfying and still performed decently. I might do more things like that next year.
Right in the middle of all this I also shot Dracula's Ex-Girlfriend, the film that I wrote and starred in on Nebula. We initially planned to shoot in February but got postponed at the last second to June, meaning a big cost in both time and money to me. Had that not happened I might have been able to do a 5th episode of Philosophy Tube.
On the whole I'd say this experiment with 'Bigger and Fewer' isn't something I want to carry forward into 2024. Artistically it was very satisfying! I really let my creativity flow this year and I am proud of that. But it didn't reflect brilliantly in the...
Finances
The channel's finances are okay. It made money this year, but slightly less money than last year.
The decrease was partly down to the drop in Patrons. That happened in the context of a general worldwide economic downturn so, not much I can do there, but it's also probably caused by a decrease in the number of videos - four, VS last year's five. Fewer videos means fewer views; less ad money and fewer sponsorships; fewer chances to plug the Patreon.
The channel also had slightly more outgoing expenses. The biggest cost increases were staffing (more crew members and raises for those crew members); and travel.
There's also the fact that 2023 was relatively very good, thanks in large part to one person - F1nn5ter ! That collab we did - The Rich Have Their Own Ethics - was such a smash hit that it brought up the numbers for the whole of that year!
Income to Philosophy Tube comes from patrons, from advertising, from merch sales, and from Nebula sponsorships. I don't accept sponsorships from anyone but Nebula, which limits the amount of money I can make there but means I'm only accepting sponsorships from people I know and trust. If you superchat me during a livestream that goes into the 'Advertising' column. All the money goes into a separate bank account (i.e. not my personal one) and if there's ever anything left over from the budget of an episode it gets rolled over into the budget for the next episode. The biggest expenses are the crew, especially Brian the stylist.
The money I make from acting work goes to me. If you're curious, this year I made less from acting than last year: the industry is in a very difficult place. My roles in Star Wars and House of the Dragon were announced this year but I actually filmed them in 2022 so the money for that doesn't figure in this year's accounts. (It all went to my landlord long ago anyway.)
The Year Ahead
In 2025 I think I'd like to focus on making some shorter videos - 20-40 mins - and perhaps more often, if I can manage it. I did some experiments this year shooting certain sections in my bedroom with less production quality and people didn't seem to mind, so perhaps I can use Brian's services more judiciously and save some money that way.
We'll be starting off the year with a double episode on Nietzsche: two short videos, spaced closer together and shot more simply. Beyond that, here are some topics that I'm interested in exploring:
Why Are American States Square?
A History of Conversion Therapy in Britain (that might be our big traaaans episode for the year)
Reclaiming Religion from the Right
Something about the Vienna Circle?
Elon Musk and Credibility
Why Are Britain's Rivers Full of Shit?
Something about performing mental health online?
Something about René Girard
Something about children and antinatalism?
I hope I'll have more acting work, and I'm also considering moving to the USA next year... We'll see. It all depends.
I'll be revamping the Patreon, reducing the number of tiers and simplifying things. We'll see how we go and if things don't pick up I might change course.
I'll probably mothball the Philosophy Tube Facebook page, as part of a general plan to get off Facebook, unless there are any strong objections?
My Health
Here's where I have to give some bad news. I took two days off this year. One was Christmas Eve. A few days ago I had some kind of... panic attack? Breakdown? Some kind of health incident . I took my 2nd day off after that.
I took no holidays. (I tried to take one but broke up with my long-term partner right at the start so it was actually more stressful than if I'd just kept working). That means I haven't actually had a break since 2022.
I have been working too hard, so one of my New Year's Resolutions is "Take A Holiday." I hope I manage to do it. I'm also going to be getting a therapist to help me cope.
YouTubing is hard. Being a trans person in the public eye is hard. Acting is hard. (Actually acting's easy and the best thing ever, but all the stuff you have to do to get to the acting is hard.) Doing all three at once is... a lot, haha. I will do my best.
Final Thoughts
The nature of the profession is that some years are good and some years are not so good. We had a good year - not as good as last year, true, but we still grew and the show still made enough money to pay for itself, so I should count myself lucky. Thanks for sticking with me, and here's to a peaceful 2025.
Abi XXx
Comments
Sarah Barber
Your Death video got me into Philosophytube last year :) sorry to hear it was less popular but it still meant a lot to me!
Krista Bryson
New to your work and really looking forward to visiting lots of your previous content, in addition to seeing what's new (but no rush!)
Jordan
Loved your work this year as always Abi! The Judith Butler video is a personal favorite and one that sparked gender revelations for several of my friends! Please please please take some real vacation this coming year! Also, I'm not sure if you answer questions here, but if you have a moment, I wanted to ask how you prefer people to reference your work from before your Identity coming out video. Specifically I'm working on a video essay on wizards and the state, and I want to cite a section of your Gender, Marxism, and Witchcraft video. I wanted to ask if it would be okay to use a clip of you from a pre-transition video or if you prefer people to just read a quotation.
Zachary Yaro
Thank you as always for keeping us informed about where our money is going—I wish everyone were more committed to transparency! But also two days off the entire year is so little time to rest; I hope you are able to give yourself a break this year! (Also, a bit speculation, but is it possible the YouTube algorithm recommended the Death episode a bit less because of the word “death”? I know YouTube isn't as strict about that as TikTok, but it is a thing some recommendation algorithms are known to do these days 😕)
Abi Thorn
Happy New Year, Abi. I've only followed you in recent years, but I'm enjoying your content. As a Health care professional, I must ask, please, PLEASE look after yourself and take a break. You can't pour from empty cup. ❤️
Robert Philip-Broadley
Thank you for everything this year Abi! And here is some unsolicited advice: no job, no mater how great, is worth your health. If you relax your brain you get better ideas and an even better work output. So, not taking care of yourself is harming your work! Hope this is guilttripping you into holiday... Love you!
Some Ed
For what it's worth, I have a trans friend who is looking at their non-US options and has been off and on since 2016, and the UK has consistently been a place that has seemed like it *should* be an option, but it really isn't, for reasons that Abi has covered pretty thoroughly. As much as it pains me to say it, the US is currently a better place for trans people as far as I can tell than the UK. That said, that may change on January 20. The US is objectively already a worse place for trans people than it was on November 5, and it just took the results that day for that to change. I agree, at this point in time, anyone considering moving to the US because of being trans should not plan on staying long. It may be better than where you are at the moment right now, but it's probably a better plan to make that trip be a holiday while figuring out where you're really going. January 20 isn't long from now. No, this change doesn't make me comfortable, even as a cis straight man. First they came for the trans people, and all of that. And as offended as they would be to read that statement, Jews should probably beware, because they're probably still somewhere in that poem, even if they're not getting top billing in the latest version.
Josephine
It seems to me that the secret to long term growth and success is simply to adopt f1nn and keep them in the boundless white void in which videos are filmed - just kinda chilling in the background chiming in with serendipitously relevant points at regular intervals. Idk, seems to me like it could work. In all seriousness your videos are indirectly a large part of why I finally decided to stop waiting, tell my family, and start pursuing HRT. Thank you for all the amazing work you do, Jo
Birdie
just joined as a paid member. hi hello! thank you for bringing me such joy, uncomfortable learning, and laughter with the philosophy tube channel! i deeply appreciate the honesty and transparency with posts like these. hoping you're able to take more care of yourself and find acting opportunities that make you happy. best wishes abi! 💗
Cryptozoomorph
As a queer leftist whose faith is -while not a religion per se - still super important to her, I would be really interested in hearing your thoughts on reclaiming it!
Isobel
Seconding the Jay Hulme rec - even if just for the poetry and the explorations of old churches, you should check his work out (goes for anyone reading this who's interested in queer Christianity, not just Abi), but in particular considering he specifically does stuff in relation to inclusivity in the church, he might be worth getting in contact with for that video concept.
Marion Goller
I just upped my pledge. I know this will not be enough to pay for a holiday. But, please, take a holiday this year. And Happy New Year!
RouxTheDay
Where did Abi go? Oh, she's here. She's just being transparent with us... Sending you infinite hugs and wishes for a better and brighter 2025! I definitely feel you about needing a break, and I salute you for not (arguably) waiting too long. You are precious, and we are far better with you than without you.
Deviant Ollam
We're all very happy to see your continued success and creativity flourish. The number of my own viewers who have told me about Kill James Bond and asked if I will ever be on the show has reached the point where I should definitely subscribe to this podcast and start listening to what all the hype is about. 😁👍 Cheers and keep being awesome. 🍾
Jon Skoog
PhilosophyTube was phenomenal this year! I'm interested the changes you've outlined and hope 2025 is better for your health and finances. Happy New Year! 🍾
mortran
Hi! Just watched you on university challenged. You guys owned. I've been a long time Philosophy tube watcher, KJB patreon on and off, and came and watched the Prince with my wife, so I figured it was time to join you here! New patreon on board!
Brittany Spratt
I am sorry to hear about your panic attack, those are scary. I hope that 2025 is a good year for you! Keep producing great content. Brittany - Canada
Dave
Abi, for the love of crime, take a vacation. Your health and sanity has to come first.
Kristie Flournoy-Earnshaw
I just upped my subscription to a paid one! Please take days off this year if you can. You deserve rest and self-care 💖
Captain Mikee
ok cool, I just wanted to make sure that Abi was getting my money! :D
Amyphist
Make sure you take that holiday! You’re lucky enough to be in a position where you can just take one when you want (acting jobs notwithstanding), so please be kind to yourself and do it. And thanks for the reminder about UC tonight! Look forward to seeing that, and some of those future videos.
Nate Brogan
patreon has a free option! you can find it either in the edit memberahip section or if you cancel your paid membership you’re eligible to stay on as a free member.
Simeon
It really is a pity that the death episode didn't perform better - it was *so good*. But it's a challenging topic that people don't want to think about, so I can see why it might not be YouTube general audience friendly. I hope you can continue to make such important but less profitable videos, as long as you can still afford a much-needed vacation! And if you're considering moving here to the US next year, I assume for professional reasons, I hope it'll be a good state like California which can work to protect you from the federal government!
JD & Eryn in Portugal!
I made such an audible sound of horror when I read you are considering possibly moving to the U.S. that my fiancée heard me in the other room lol. Eryn and I are an American queer trans and agender couple that fled the U.S. and moved to Portugal in early 2023, and in a way, it's because of YOU that we escaped. For her birthday, I got front and center seats to take Eryn to see you in The Prince in London in October 2022 (which was AMAZING). We then spent almost 3 weeks road tripping around England and Scotland with a detour to Paris, and before the end of our trip, we'd decided the U.S. was no longer a tolerable place to be by comparison. Long story short, we moved, along with my trans son and his trans boyfriend, to Portugal less than 6 months later (because Scotland wasn't an option for us). I am not exaggerating when I say I think moving out of the U.S. saved my life. It certainly saved all our sanity! Or what was left of it hahah! So... thank you? Whatever you do, I hope it works out for the best for you! PLEASE do take some time for yourself. Burnout is a cruel fate to be avoided whenever possible. Really excited about a video on reclaiming Christianity from the Right, btw! It's been a topic of great interest to me as a former Evangelical kid who became an Atheist Movement leader, but nowadays am much more sympathetic towards spirituality. Pretty sure there's a "pipeline" for that trajectory right now. P.S. Have you considered moving to Portugal?
Jack Fennell
Ah feck, Abi, I'm sorry to hear about the incident on Christmas Eve. I hope you're feeling a bit better now, and that you'll be fully recharged and more after a well deserved break.
Captain Mikee
I'm confused about the tiers. I'm at the $2 level now - is that what you mean by "free" or is there a lower tier?
Marjorie Zeager
If you do "why are Britain's rivers full of shit," maybe you can collab with someone in Ohio to talk about our beloved Cuyahoga
Eric C
I mistook René Girard for Rémy Girard and was enthusiastic but confused :P
Eric Lundquist
You probably don't want to move to the US right now. Things are about to continue to get weird and challenging, especially for marginalized groups. Although as a paying member, I request... no, DEMAND that you take a holiday this year. Everyone needs rest, especially incredible people like you.
JoannaPoppyfield
Take a break, get good rest, and when you're feeling up to it just now ALL of those video topics seem extremely interesting!
Jessica Danger
Also, speaking only as one person, while I love your big, theatrical, dramatic videos, your smaller and quieter ones are also amazing. If you switch to shooting more in your room, I will continue to avidly watch all of your videos!
Tuur Verheyde
Thank you for your work. Hope you find the space and time to give yourself a break in 2025. Take care.
Jessica Danger
Abi we love you but please do NOT move to the United States right now! The conservatives want to literally make our existence a crime! 🫂
Grey
Take a holiday! Your content can't exist without you, so take care of that precious resource. And thank you for the detailed update. 💖
Sinan Perin
You make perfect stuff. The best food for thought one can get in the internet. Don’t make too many short vids that will make life more stressful. Take care and more money😀 I just upgraded. Happy new year
Michael Miller
Chiming in to echo support for your holiday plans. We all need moments of quiet and rest from time to time. I’m also a +1 for your take on reclaiming religion from the right.
Duckduckcherry
Feel better and be kind to yourself. You have made a great impact on the world and personally I’m glad I found you. Maybe an episode on the terrible state of mental healthcare? Maybe that’s only in the states? I work in the field and it’s very hard as we are under corporate control with profits before people. Happy New Year!
Max DuBoff
And really wishing you the best health-wise and that you can take a holiday! Thank you so much for all the hard work on this channel, but of course your health has to come first!
Max DuBoff
For the episode about children/antinatalism, I'd really love to hear you discuss Ingrid Robeyns's article "Is Procreation Special?”--she applies a Nussbaumian capabilitarian framework to rebut Thomas Young's claim (in "Overconsumption and Procreation: Are They Morally Equivalent?") that having kids is relevantly morally similar to excessive material consumption. I've had great success teaching this debate in my Reproductive Ethics course, and it brings a great perspective to environmentalist concerns about reproduction, which are often philosophically underdeveloped. I also think Jennifer Banks's recent book Natality would be be good for you to cover--it tries to trace a commitment to natality (expanding it beyond Arendt's usage, although she's discussed too) in several thinkers, including Nietzsche, so it could build on your episodes on him (Banks also discusses Wollstonecraft, Shelley, Arendt, Sojourner Truth, Adrienne Rich, and Toni Morrison).
Zoe McAden
Please take care of yourself. I personally vote for more, shorter films (attention span of a ......... since 2020). I also loved when your videos were simpler, more informal. I don't want to stifle your creativity, you do what lights you up, but there is room for variety in terms of "production value." I also don't want to take work away from Brian, but you can just be you on screen and that's cool.
Allison
Yikes. I'm sorry about your break-up, and I hope you're able to take a real holiday (or three) this year, and let yourself get some rest. As a big religions nerd, I'm VERY interested in the "Reclaiming Religion from the Right" topic that you're looking at. One of the girls in my town gives talks to churches - mostly the United Church of Canada, but a few other religious groups too - about how faith groups can show up for trans people, and she says "Hate doesn't have a monopoly on faith" a LOT. Anyway. I'm excited to see that one (I wonder of Jay Hulme - a poet, not a philosopher, granted - would be up for talking about that with you. Or Andy Letcher - big lefty Druid - for that matter. Or Ron Hutton, bless him).
SigmundFrood
Thank you for the reminder to resub! I hope your 2025 goes better, that you’re able to get a break, and that Hasbro gets out an action figure of your Acolyte character.
naomio
Thank you for the update! Take care of yourself, and have a great New Year!
Julian Kim
I'm very excited by the list of possible episodes for next year. While I've enjoyed the ambitious stuff you've been doing I'd love to see more frequent videos, even if they're a more basic in their production. Each video you drop is an EVENT for my husband and me; it takes us about 3x the run time of each video to watch them because we're constantly pausing and discussing.
Mary Pittman
I think taking a holiday is an EXCELLENT new years resolution! Everyone needs a break!!!
Athena V.
Sorry to hear that you're having health issues. Take care of yourself! I can attest from personal experience that burnout is the worst, and I'd hate for you to reach that point. Here's hoping you have a great 2025! ❤️🏳️⚧️
Hedgebug
Nobody wants you to burn out and produce nothing. Take the necessary breaks for an artistic human to maintain creativity and passion. I've seen other online creative types do things like prepare low-effort retrospectives for the time they're on break so patrons and fans have something on the regular. Honestly it's sometimes nice to see what a creative considers "low effort" too
Kelly Wren
I just became a paid member. Thanks for the nudge. ♡
Gabrielle VanDuser
I hope that you're able to get the rest you deserve and need, I finished my Master's degree in social work a few weeks ago and anticipated 2024 being an abysmal year just based on being in school the entire year with no actual break between semesters, but frankly, it was worse and I'm really trying to come down from that but I've been running full tilt since August last year and realized that it's gonna take more than a couple weeks for me to come down from that. It's important that we practice self-care and I hope you're able to take a holiday. As an American, I can tell you shit's about to get fucked even more, but that is happening on a global scale (something something when it rains it pours) I look forward to seeing your videos, but please don't put your health on the line to produce them. Happy New Year?
Daevid Jael
Thank you for sharing with us the state of the Philosination! I know it is hard being self employed to do so, however you must look after yourself first and foremost. Curious about the possible move to the States given recent events, however i get that being there might open up new opportunities for you and for the channel, as well as other potential benefits not available here. Speaking of which I very much look forward to seeing an episode as to why American states are square! Wishing you all the best for 2025 x
Athena
+1 for reclaiming religion; I think that’s fertile ground for a double-whammy of tapping into new communities from the left AND ALSO driving wedges into the right wing, which is currently a coalition of like 8 or 9 groups with conflicting goals that in other times would hate each other’s guts.
Nate Brogan
sending a ton of love your way abi. if you do come to the USA next year you’ll be welcomed! i hope things get better for you soon, and i’m rooting for you to take that holiday, you deserve it!!
Miranda Ketita
Appreciate everything you do Abi. It's been a tough year for a lot of us. Please remember to take care of yourself and prioritize your needs. Best wishes for 2025! Love, Miranda
enchantedsleeper
University Challenge!!! Omg. I haven't watched in years but I'll definitely try to catch you on 🤩
Debbie
Please take a break, you definitely deserve it. You make stellar stuff and should be proud of your work. I'll stay a paid supporter through 2025 and beyond!
